Resilient trough support



Patented Dec. 8, l92 5. v I i UNITED; .sT 'r s PATENT OFFICE.

NATHAN M- LOWER, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA. ASSIGNOR TO LOCOMOTIVE STOKER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

RESILIENT 'rnooerr snrron'r.

Application filedJune 14, 1924. Serial No. 720,141

To all whom it may concern. support the same from the tender, suitable Be itknown that I, NATHAN M. Lownn, a mechanism has been provided which will citizen of the United States, and resident now be described.

of Pittsburgh, county of Allegheny, and On the drawing, the reference character State of Pennsylvania, have invented cerdesignates a locomotive and 11 the tender tain new and useful Improvements in Resilitherefor. The coupling mechanism for con ent' Trough Supports, of which the follow necting the' locomotive and tender together ing is a specification, and whichis illusis conventionally shown at 13.

trated in the accompanying drawings, form: Suitable means are provided for trans- I 10 ing a part thereof. 1 ferring the fuel from the tender to the loco- This invention relates to stokers, and motive. This means comprises a conveyor 'more particularly to stokers for locomotives. 1 and an elevator 15. The rear portion The principal object of the invention is of the conveyor 14 is in the form of a the provision ofnew and improved means trough 16 which is located beneath the 15 for supporting a great portion of the weight floor 17 of the tender 11 whereby fuel from of the stoker independently of the locosaid tender may fall by gravity into said' motive; trough and betransferred by the conveyor Another object of the invention is the proelement 18 to the elevator 15 and by means vision of new and improved means for supof the elevator mechanism 19 delivered to 20 porting the entire ;weight of the conveyor the distributor 20, in the usual manner;

and a portion of the weight of the elevator The forward end of the conveyor 14 is from the tender. connected to the elevator 15 bya universal Other and further objects and advantages joint 21 as is common in .such constructions. will appear from the following description The conveyor 14 is supported on the tender 25 taken in connection with the accompanying frame 22 by appropriate mechanism prodrawings, in which vided for this purpose. That shown com- Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a portion prises the bearings 23, secured to said conof a locomotiveand tender'therefor, showveyor which are adapted to engage tracks ing the invention in position thereon; and 24 rigidly secured to said frame. The bear- 30 Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the resilient ings may if desired be so located that the Y support. v v weight of the conveyor, the conveyor screw,

In the construction ofrailway rolling the coal in said conveyorand the mechastock in recent years the tendency has been nism at the rear-for operating the screw will to build larger and still larger locomotives. be borne principally by the bearings 23. 35 But the bridges, tracks and road beds on Suitable means are provided preventing most roads determine the maximum undue oscillation of the conveyor and for weight of the locomotives that may supporting the forward end of the same be employed. Owing to the great size from the tender. As shown on the drawing, of the lOCOIl'IOlZlX'GS of the 7 present a resilient support is employed for this pur- 40 time, the employment of mechanical stokers pose. The resilient support comprises a to supply fuel thereto is absolutely neceslower section 25 which is rigidly secured to sary. In present practice, a great porthe frame 22 of the tender as by means of tion of the .weight of these stokers-is carthe bolts or screws 26. The section 25 is ried by the trucks of the locomotive, thereby provided'with an upwardly extending tubu- 4 adding to the weight of the same. T'Vhere lar member 260 which is adapted to receive the weight of the engines as designed is only the lower end of the supporting spring 27 slightly below the maximum for safety on A cap member 28 which telescopes the "up- 1 the roads on which they are intended to per end of the member 260 is adapted to operate, the extra weight of the stoker'on receive the upper end of the spring 27 the locomotive might add sufficient weight whereby a housing is provided for said to exceed that amount. spring. I

In order to relieve the locomotive trucks The upper end of the cap 28 is adapted to of a great portion of this added weight, and engage a bearing surface 29 formed on the of said conveyor.

not only support lower portion of the conveyor 16 for permitting longitudinal and lateral movement is of such size that it will the entire weight of the front end of the conveyor 14 but will also assist in supporting the weight of the elevator 15 on the locomotive. The resiliency of the spring will permit a limited vertical movement of the conveyor 1% in order that the same may conform to the movement of the elevator 15 during the travel of the locomotive and may be so constructed and arranged that it will also support a part of the weight of the elevator.

. By means of this arrangement not only the entire weight of the conveyor 14 is supported on the tender, but also a portion of vthe weight of the stoker may be carried by the tender, thus enablingstokers to be employed on locomotives that approach the maximum weight permitted on the roads on which they are to be employed.

This invention is not-limited in its application to the particular construction herein illustrated, as various changes might be made in the construction shown without departing from the spirit of this invention, or the scope of the appended claims. 7

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination, a locomotive, a tender therefor, a stoker for supplying fuel to said locomotive from said tender, comprising a conveyor and an elevator, and means including a resilient member for supporting the entire weight of said conveyor on said tender.

2. In combination, a

The spring 27 locomotive, a tender therefor, a stoker for supplying fuel to,

said locomotive from said tender, comprising a conveyor and an'elevator, means for supporting the rear end of said conveyor on said tender, and resilientmeans for supporting the vforward end of said conveyor on said tender. 1

3. In combination, a locomotive, a tender,

a stoker for said locomotive "comprising a fuel conveyor and an elevator, a track on said tender, a supporting member secured ably engaging to said conveyor for engaging said track for supporting one end of said conveyor, and resilient means for supporting the other end of said conveyor. 7

4. In combination, a locomotive, a tender, stoker mechanism for said locomotive ineluding a conveyor, and means, said means exerting a lifting force on the front end only of said conveyor, for supporting said conveyor from said tender, said means slidsaid conveyor to permit lateral horizontal oscillation of one end of said conveyor relatively to said tender and said means.

In combination, a locomotive, a tender, stoker mechanism for said locomotive including a conveyor located beneath the deck of the tendel-and an elevator, a universal joint between said conveyor and elevator, the latter being mounted on said locomotive, and means for supporting said conveyor and a portion of the weight of said elevator from said tender, said means exerting a lifting force through said joint on' said elevator. i

6. In combination, a locomotive, a tender therefor, conveyor means located' on the tender, elevating means mounted on the locomotive and interlocking with the conveyor means, and resilient means located on the tender for urging such two means upwardly.

7. In combination, a'locomotive, a tender therefor, stoker mechanism located in part on the tender. and in part on the locomotive, and resilient means on the tender for supporting in part both of such sections of the stoker mechanism.

8. In combination, a locomotive, a tender therefor, stoker mechanism comprising an elevator mounted on said locomotive for supplying fuel thereto, a conveyor for transferring fuel from said tender to said elevator, and means on said tender for supporting said conveyor, said means exerting a lifting force on said elevator for relieving the engine of a portion of the weight of said elevator. I

- NATHANQM. LOIVER. 

